Getting rid of my cat
Last night my wife and I made the overdue decision to get rid of one of our cats. Ashon has been with us since we moved into the house five years ago. At his best he is the kind of cat that will walk up to you, snuggle in, let you pet him, and then nap in your lap. When you are getting the water ready for a shower, he'll stick his nose in the water and lap it up as it comes out of the faucet. He's very friendly - I don't think a single salesman or workman has come through our house without the cat rubbing himself up against them. He'd be perfect for an elderly woman with no cats who just wants someone to talk to. But we aren't that family.
Ashon has a number of annoying habits. He is very insistent when it comes to the punctuality of his meals. He will howl outside the range of reach until someone gets out of bed and feeds him. At 5:30 am, 3:30pm, 6:00pm, and sometimes 9:00pm. He is a fat cat, which means that any food that is left in the dish will be gobbled up whether it's his dish or the other cat's. As a fat cat, he is fearless. That means that even if you are stomping down the stairs with a loaded laundry hamper, he won't move. I can't tell you how many times I've stepped on him or tripped over him. I don't mind that so much except for when I'm carrying Oliver. He has a sixth sense that enables him to figure out where you are going to go next so that you can trip over him again. He is the dominant cat in our house and will pounce on the other cat and groom him.
Ashon has developed the unfortunate habit of peeing on our furniture when he's angry with us. This has been an ongoing problem since we got him. Couches, rugs, love seats - you name it he's sprayed it. At this point our house smells like one big litter box. It doesn't bother me all that much - I have almost no sense of smell, but my wife complains about the smell constantly. It also becomes a problem when we leave for a weekend and come back to a game of what-did-he-hit-now.
I think that we could deal with all of his bad habits. But at his worst, he is borderline dangerous. Twice I've been bitten on the hand by him and sent to the hospital. In his own defense, once he was cornered and once he was reacting the the unnaturalness that is a pug, but he has also gotten hissy and spitty when he was cornered by some toddlers at my birthday party a couple of years ago. Given that we will soon have a toddler of our own, this may be the right time to get rid of the cat. I can't risk the possibility of Ashon biting Oliver.
This isn't a decision that I take lightly. But I have to do it. So this Saturday I'll take him down to the Humane Society. And it just breaks my heart.
Ashon has a number of annoying habits. He is very insistent when it comes to the punctuality of his meals. He will howl outside the range of reach until someone gets out of bed and feeds him. At 5:30 am, 3:30pm, 6:00pm, and sometimes 9:00pm. He is a fat cat, which means that any food that is left in the dish will be gobbled up whether it's his dish or the other cat's. As a fat cat, he is fearless. That means that even if you are stomping down the stairs with a loaded laundry hamper, he won't move. I can't tell you how many times I've stepped on him or tripped over him. I don't mind that so much except for when I'm carrying Oliver. He has a sixth sense that enables him to figure out where you are going to go next so that you can trip over him again. He is the dominant cat in our house and will pounce on the other cat and groom him.
Ashon has developed the unfortunate habit of peeing on our furniture when he's angry with us. This has been an ongoing problem since we got him. Couches, rugs, love seats - you name it he's sprayed it. At this point our house smells like one big litter box. It doesn't bother me all that much - I have almost no sense of smell, but my wife complains about the smell constantly. It also becomes a problem when we leave for a weekend and come back to a game of what-did-he-hit-now.
I think that we could deal with all of his bad habits. But at his worst, he is borderline dangerous. Twice I've been bitten on the hand by him and sent to the hospital. In his own defense, once he was cornered and once he was reacting the the unnaturalness that is a pug, but he has also gotten hissy and spitty when he was cornered by some toddlers at my birthday party a couple of years ago. Given that we will soon have a toddler of our own, this may be the right time to get rid of the cat. I can't risk the possibility of Ashon biting Oliver.
This isn't a decision that I take lightly. But I have to do it. So this Saturday I'll take him down to the Humane Society. And it just breaks my heart.
posted by mypetrock at 9:46 AM
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